Plane that carried Ebola patient undergoes cleaning
DENVER — A Frontier Airlines plane that carried a woman diagnosed with Ebola was flown to Denver International Airport on Wednesday night, where it was cleaned three times, the airline said.
In a statement Wednesday morning, Frontier Airlines said it cleaned the plane three times that transported the second patient, Amber Vinson, from Cleveland to Dallas Fort Worth Oct. 13.
In a statement, Frontier said that while in Denver, the plane, which transported health care worker Amber Vinson from Cleveland to Dallas on Monday, will undergo a fourth cleaning that will consist of "removal of seat covers and carpets in the immediate vicinity of the passenger seat. The airline will also change the environmental filters onboard."
"We take what occurred very seriously but CDC guidance is that no other flights were at risk for exposure," Frontier Director of Corporate Communications Todd Lehmacher wrote in an e-mail.
In an email to employees Wednesday, Frontier Airlines CEO David Siegel said the two pilots and four flight attendants onboard Flight 1143 were placed on paid leave for 21 days out an "abundance of caution."
According to the information published on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, Frontier said it cleaned the plane Monday "consistent with CDC guidelines prior to returning it to service the next day."